Thank you, Mr. President.
Before we begin…I want to convey my heartfelt condolences to the people of the Ivory Coast on the sudden passing of our colleague Ambassador Bernard.
Mr. President,
Last week, Israel marked seventy years since our independence. It was a joyous occasion celebrating the return to our historic homeland and all we have accomplished in seven short decades.
But it was also a time to recall how fragile our independence was for many years. The day Israel was established, we were attacked on all sides.
At least once in every decade following 1948 our survival came into immediate question.
Today, Israel is stronger than ever. We built a flourishing democracy. An open society dedicated to freedom.
But even though our survival may not be in question as it once was, our country faces very real threats. We have learned the hard way that Iran spreads its tentacles all over the globe. It promotes terrorism on our borders and instability worldwide.
To our north…we face two of these Iranian proxies. The terrorists of Hezbollah, who have amassed over one hundred thousand rockets and missiles, aimed at our cities and towns, and the dangerous Assad regime in Syria, the Iranian puppet that poisons its own people.
To our south we have the Hamas-controlled Gaza. Hamas is an internationally designated terrorist organization. It is amassing its own stockpile of rockets to fire at our citizens while continuing to dig terror tunnels underground.
It is this same barbaric entity that holds Israeli citizens hostage and denies the families of two of our soldiers the basic dignity of burying their loved ones.
For the past few weeks, Hamas has orchestrated a series of provocations and confrontations along the security fence between Israel and Gaza. Hamas and the Palestinian Authority continue to claim these protests are peaceful demonstrations of solidarity.
They are not.
There is nothing peaceful about placing explosives on the fence separating Israel from Gaza.
There is nothing peaceful about terrorist firing over the fence at our positions.
And there is nothing peaceful about setting off firebombs, burning tires and throwing Molotov cocktails.
Throughout the riots of the past month, Hamas has used innocent Palestinian women and children as human shields, while they cowered behind in safety. The terrorists are hiding while allowing – even hoping – for their people to die.
This is evil in its purest form.
Israel has an obligation to protect our citizens and we will do so while minimizing civilian casualties to the other side. The fact is that despite these impossible conditions, the vast majority of those killed were confirmed members of terrorist organizations.
Mr. Mansour,
I would like to repeat the words of our former Prime Minister, Golda Meir. Peace between our peoples will come only when you love your own children more than you hate us.
Unfortunately, this quote still correctly describes the Palestinian leadership today.
Like any law-abiding country, Israel always ensures that, when necessary, incidents are investigated by the proper authorities.
But let me be clear.
Israel will never apologize for defending our country.
It is Israel that cares so deeply about innocent lives. It is the Palestinian leaders who exploit every innocent death for its shameless public relations campaign. And it is Hamas that is fully responsible for every Palestinian injury and death that has resulted from these incidents.
Just two weeks ago, while too many in the world were distracted by Palestinian propaganda, Israel’s security forces uncovered the longest and deepest Hamas terror tunnel discovered to date. If we had not detected and neutralized this terror tunnel, Hamas terrorists would have used it to infiltrate Israel and attack our communities.
Some members of this Council have criticized our response. But you must ask yourselves a simple question.
How would you react if armed terrorists were marching on the border of Kuwait?
What would you do to protect the people of Sweden, or Bolivia, if a violent mob threatened to infiltrate?
The answer is simple. You would defend yourselves.
We will do the same.
Our citizens live just a few hundred meters from the security fence.
We will protect them.
Make no mistake. These are not peaceful protests. They are not grassroots efforts, and they will only become deadlier. These riots are fully orchestrated by Hamas. And according to Hamas leadership the protests will continue until at least May 15th.
As Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh said, and I quote, “On Friday we stopped at the border. Next time, we do not know where the border will be.”
Hamas’s goal is clear: to infiltrate Israeli territory, either above or below ground, and to harm as many innocents as possible.
If you wish to put an end to these riots, if you do not want to see more violence, then this Council must condemn Hamas. You must hold the Palestinian leadership accountable and demand that they end this charade, once and for all.
Mr. President,
We speak often of the threats posed by Hamas, Hezbollah and the Assad regime in Syria. But we cannot forget that these threats lead back to one source – one common thread.
The Iranian regime is the dangerous thread that ties these threats together.
We are presenting this image to the world so you can understand the depth of Iran’s involvement in Syria. What you see here is Iran’s central induction and recruitment center in Syria. There are over 80,000 Shia militants in Syria under Iranian control. It is at this base, just over five miles from Damascus, where they are trained to commit acts of terror in Syria and across the region.
This is yet another example of Iran’s presence in Syria, of which we’ve warned you time and again. A presence that includes the Iranian Revolutionary Guard, airfields, weapons factories and key elements of Syria’s economy.
In February, Iran launched an Unarmed Aerial Vehicle from Syria into Israel. Luckily, the Israeli Air Force was able to shoot it down.
Our thorough investigation has left no doubt that this drone was an Iranian UAV. It shares key indicators and markers of the Iranian Shahed-129s that have fallen over Syria and Pakistan in recent years.
When we analyzed, when we investigated the remains of the downed UAV, we discovered that it contained explosive materials. These materials were different than those used in the missiles that intercepted it.
The conclusion is clear.
This UAV not only violated our sovereignty but was intended to be used as an offensive weapon against targets in Israel.
These threats can be stopped, but only if the international community acts together.
In just two and half weeks, the United States will announce its decision regarding the fate of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action.
Iran’s claims its nuclear pursuits are peaceful, and purely for self-defense, though nothing could be further from the truth. The regime proudly parades its missiles in city centers. Written on the sides of these missiles are calls to destroy Israel. Iran’s leaders make no effort to hide their hope to wipe Israel off the map.
President Trump is focused on important changes to the current situation, because he knows it will make the world safer. He knows we must change the course, and we must do it now.
First – International inspectors must be granted full access to all suspicious nuclear sites in Iran, including military facilities.
Second – Iran must end the development and testing of its advanced ballistic missile program.
And third – The agreement’s expiration date must be extended or eliminated.
We must increase monitoring and oversight of Iran’s finances, which have grown significantly since the JCPOA relieved the sanctions.
Iran has sent this new money directly to Hezbollah. It has used it to build weapons factories and terror bases in Syria and Lebanon. It has spent it on the Houthis, who continue to attack the Gulf region with sophisticated arms and ballistic missiles. It has reinforced Iran’s role as the largest state-sponsor of terrorism in the world.
All the signatories of this agreement must now make a choice.
Will you support the necessary changes? Or will you choose to enable the Iranian regime that supports terror and seeks to take over the Middle East?
You have one final opportunity to right the wrongs of this deal. The world’s moral majority has an obligation to end this Iranian threat.
You cannot afford to put your economic desires over the safety and security of our world.
The choice has come to this: countries, individuals and corporations must choose between doing business with Iran or ensuring a stable world.
You cannot have it both ways.
Mr. President,
Israel has a very clear policy that we have held since the administration of Prime Minister Menachem Begin.
We will not allow regimes that seek our destruction to acquire nuclear weapons. Period.
If there is the will among the international community, Iran can be stopped from financing, training and arming terrorists.
Iran can be stopped from enabling puppet regimes and exploiting their countries as bases for aggression.
And most importantly, Iran can be stopped from becoming a nuclear superpower and a grave threat to the world.
I thank you.